Serena Williams/Getty Images
Serena Williams announced on Friday that she will not be competing at the Wuhan Open and the China in Beijing. These two Premier events will take place in the next two weeks.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete at the Wuhan Open or the China Open due to continuing issues with my right shoulder,” Williams said in a statement. “I have been practicing and playing but my shoulder is still not fit for tournament play.”
In an interview with Ravi Ubha of CNN, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said: “I’m tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses that I would never lose.”
Despite having only played 8 tournaments this year, Serena has qualified for the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore. She won two titles (Rome and Wimbledon) and finished runner-up in other Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open) plus a semifinal finish at the US Open.
Patrick Mouratoglu, Serena’s coach, said in a CNN interview: “It’s a bad season for her. She has been a lot injured. For Serena any other result that is not a title is a bad result. The final at a Grand Slam is a bad result for her. We cannot be satisfied with one Grand Slam [title] and two finals lost.”
The now world number two aims to make a return at the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore where she can have a chance to regain the number one ranking. The American missed this event last year.
